Chase Daniel couldn’t be happier to be a backup again

Posted by Josh Alper on July 13, 2012, 3:52 PM EDT

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Friday the 13th brought good news to the Saints, a rare happening this offseason, and the celebration of Drew Brees‘ signing has begun.

Twitter is overflowing with Saints players sending their congratulations to the quarterback on his five-year, $100 million and expressing their excitement about getting back to work with Brees. Nothing shocking there as Brees’ return means better days ahead for everyone associated with the Saints.

Well, just about everyone. Chase Daniel was the one Saint who stood to potentially benefit from a Brees absence that extended into the preseason, if only because it would give him a chance to show off his skills in hopes of landing a starting job elsewhere in the league. If Daniel is disappointed by the missed opportunity, he did a good job of hiding it when the New Orleans Times-Picayunecalled him for a comment.

“It was reported like seven minutes ago, and just the feeling I get from seeing our teammates on Twitter respond to it is just insane,” Daniel said. “We get our leader back. We get the guy who runs the ship, the guy who rights the ship. Especially not having Sean Payton there, having the guy who runs the team, it’s big time for us.”

Daniel, who missed some of the spring workouts with a broken thumb, will still get good chunks of preseason games to show off what he can do at quarterback. Barring any calamity for Brees, that will be the only meaningful time he gets this year and that seems to suit him just fine.

I still think backup QB is the best job in sports. You still make millions and never take a physical beating. I’m sure it’s a hit to the ego, but if you can make a career out of playing a few plays a year and just staying in shape, that’s a good life right there.

granadafan says:Jul 13, 2012 5:37 PM

This is why Chase Daniel will never make a starter. His attitude is all wrong. Instead of pushing and striving to be a starter in the league, he’s comfortable being a backup. It’s a good gig holding a clipboard with a great view of the game, but any competitor wants to be on the field.